Tumour metastasis is an important reason for cancer death, and cancer cell migration is an important step in the process of tumour metastasis. Studying cancer cell migration is of great significance. ...Here, we present a novel microfluidic co-culture system and establish mild, moderate and severe cancer models by using HMEpiC and MDA-MB-231 cells to study cancer cell migration and anti-cancer drug screening. Using this device, we achieved high cell viability (over 90%) and a stable analysis of the migration ability of cancer cells. We observed that the density of the cancer cells determined the probability of the occurrence of metastatic cells and that the induction of normal cells affected the metastatic velocity of each cancer cell. We verified that the increase in the migration ability of MDA-MB-231 cells co-cultured with HMEpiC cells was relative to the increased secretion of IL-6 and that this was verified by an IL-6 inhibitor assay. This co-culture also led to decreased CK-14 secretion and morphological changes in HMEpiC cells. Finally, significant inhibition of paclitaxel and tamoxifen on cancer migration was observed. Taken together, our microfluidic device could be a useful tool for the quantitation of the migratory capability and anti-metastatic drug screening.
Precise and minimally invasive closed reduction is the premise of minimally invasive internal fixation. This paper aims to explore the safety and efficacy of a robot-assisted fracture reduction ...system (RAFR) in the treatment of pelvic fractures and to analyze its clinical advantages and existing problems.
The RAFR system intelligently designed the optimal reduction path and target position based on a preoperative three-dimensional(3D) CT scan of the patient. The reduction robotic arm automatically reduced the affected hemipelvis according to the pre-planned reduction path.
The average residual displacement was the 6.65 ± 3.59 mm. According to Matta's criteria, there were 7 excellent, 10 good, and 3 fair, and the excellent and good rate was 85%. No postoperative complications occurred.
In our study, the RAFR system could complete accurate and minimally invasive closed reduction for most patients with unstable pelvic fractures, which could achieve good fracture reduction quality and short-term efficacy.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious infectious disease. Similar to H7N9 infection, pneumonia and cytokine storm are typical clinical manifestations of COVID-19. Our previous ...studies found that H7N9 patients had intestinal dysbiosis. However, the relationship between the gut microbiome and COVID-19 has not been determined. This study recruited a cohort of 57 patients with either general (n = 20), severe (n = 19), or critical (n = 18) disease. The objective of this study was to investigate changes in the abundance of ten predominant intestinal bacterial groups in COVID-19 patients using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR), and to establish a correlation between these bacterial groups and clinical indicators of pneumonia in these patients. The results indicated that dysbiosis occurred in COVID-19 patients and changes in the gut microbial community were associated with disease severity and hematological parameters. The abundance of butyrate-producing bacteria, such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Clostridium butyricum, Clostridium leptum, and Eubacterium rectale, decreased significantly, and this shift in bacterial community may help discriminate critical patients from general and severe patients. Moreover, the number of common opportunistic pathogens Enterococcus (Ec) and Enterobacteriaceae (E) increased, especially in critically ill patients with poor prognosis. The results suggest that these bacterial groups can serve as diagnostic biomarkers for COVID-19, and that the Ec/E ratio can be used to predict death in critically ill patients.
The gut microbiota drives individual sensitivity to excess acetaminophen (APAP)-mediated hepatotoxicity. It has been reported that the bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila protects hosts against liver ...disease via the liver-gut axis, but its therapeutic potential for drug-induced liver injury remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of A. muciniphila on APAP-induced liver injury and the underlying mechanism. Administration of A. muciniphila efficiently alleviated APAP-induced hepatotoxicity and reduced the levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST). A. muciniphila significantly attenuated APAP-induced oxidative stress and the inflammatory response, as evidenced by restoration of the reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG) balance, enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, reduced proinflammatory cytokine production, and alleviation of macrophage and neutrophil infiltration. Moreover, A. muciniphila maintained gut barrier function, reshaped the perturbed microbial community and promoted short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) secretion. The beneficial effects of A. muciniphila were accompanied by alterations in hepatic gene expression at the transcriptional level and activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway. Our results suggested that A. muciniphila could be a potential pretreatment for APAP-induced liver injury.
Our work revealed that A. muciniphila attenuated APAP-induced liver injury by alleviating oxidative stress and inflammation in the liver, and its hepatoprotective effect was accompanied by activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway and mediated by regulation of the composition and metabolic function of the intestinal microbiota. This finding suggested that the microbial community is a non-negligible impact on drug metabolism and probiotic administration could be a potential therapy for drug-induced liver injury.
Corneal diseases are the main reason of vision loss globally. Constructing a corneal equivalent which has a similar strength and transparency with the native cornea, seems to be a feasible way to ...solve the shortage of donated cornea. Electrospun collagen scaffolds are often fabricated and used as a tissue-engineered cornea, but the main drawback of poor mechanical properties make it unable to meet the requirement for surgery suture, which limits its clinical applications to a large extent. Aligned polyvinyl acetate (PVA)/collagen (PVA-COL) scaffolds were electrospun by mixing collagen and PVA to reinforce the mechanical strength of the collagen electrospun scaffold. Human keratocytes (HKs) and human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) inoculated on aligned and random PVA-COL electrospun scaffolds adhered and proliferated well, and the aligned nanofibers induced orderly HK growth, indicating that the designed PVA-COL composite nanofibrous electrospun scaffold is suitable for application in tissue-engineered cornea.
Clostridioides difficile infection is closely related to the intestinal flora disorders induced by antibiotics, and changes in the intestinal flora may cause the occurrence and development of ...Clostridioides difficile infection. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is one of the major bioactive ingredients of green tea and has been suggested to alleviate the growth of C. difficile in vitro. EGCG can ameliorate several diseases, such as obesity, by regulating the gut microbiota. However, whether EGCG can attenuate C. difficile infection by improving the gut microbiota is unknown. After establishing a mouse model of C. difficile infection, mice were administered EGCG (25 or 50 mg/kg/day) or PBS intragastrically for 2 weeks to assess the benefits of EGCG. Colonic pathology, inflammation, the intestinal barrier, gut microbiota composition, metabolomics, and the transcriptome were evaluated in the different groups. Compared with those of the mice in the CDI group, EGCG improved survival rates after infection, improved inflammatory markers, and restored the damage to the intestinal barrier. Furthermore, EGCG could improve the intestinal microbial community caused by C. difficile infection, such as by reducing the relative abundance of Enterococcaceae and Enterobacteriaceae. Moreover, EGCG can increase short-chain fatty acids, improve amino acid metabolism, and downregulate pathways related to intestinal inflammation. EGCG alters the microbiota and alleviates C. difficile infection, which provides new insights into potential therapies.
is a common cause of nosocomial infection. Antibiotic-induced dysbiosis in the intestinal microbiota is a core cause of
infection (CDI).
plays an active role in maintaining gastrointestinal balance ...and might offer the protective effects on CDI as probiotics. Here, we investigated the effects and mechanisms of
on CDI. C57BL/6 mice (
= 29) were administered
Muc
(3 × 10
CFUs, 0.2 mL) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) by oral gavage for 2 weeks. Mice were pretreated with an antibiotic cocktail and subsequently challenged with the
strain VPI 10463.
treatment prevented weight loss in mice and reduced the histological injury of the colon. And it also alleviated inflammation and improved the barrier function of the intestine. The administration effects of
may be associated with an increase in short-chain fatty acid production and the maintenance of bile acids' steady-state. Our results provide evidence that administration of
to CDI mice, with an imbalance in the microbial community structure, lead to a decrease in abundance of members of the Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococcaceae. In short,
shows a potential anti-CDI role by modulating gut microbiota and the metabolome.
Acute lung injury (ALI) causes lung inflammation and edema as well as resulting in gut microbiota disorder. Probiotics, however, can improve the gut microbiota composition and modulate its immune ...response, playing an important role in ALI pathogenesis. Therefore, our study aims to investigate the effect of Lactobacillus reuteri on Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI in mice and to probe the mechanism of its synergistic modulatory effect on the lungs and intestines. We assessed the therapeutic effects of L. reuteri in the ALI mouse model by histopathology, alveolar lavage fluid and serum inflammatory factor analysis and explored microbiome and transcriptome alterations. L. reuteri intervention effectively attenuated lung tissue injury and significantly reduced the LPS-induced inflammatory response and macrophage and neutrophil infiltration. Additionally, L. reuteri improved the intestinal barrier function and remodeled the disordered microbiota. In conclusion, our study showed that L. reuteri attenuated the inflammatory response, ameliorated the pulmonary edema, repaired the intestinal barrier, and remodeled the gut microbiota in ALI mice. This study provides new perspectives on the clinical treatment of ALI.
Through the comparison of the demographic, epidemiological, and clinical characteristics of hospital human influenza (influenza A (H1N1) pdm09, H3N2, and B)-related and hospitalized avian-origin ...influenza A (H7N9)-related viral pneumonia patients, find the different between them. A retrospective study was conducted in hospitalized influenza-related viral pneumonia patients. Human influenza A-related patients in the 35-49-year-old group were more than those with B pneumonia patients (p = 0.027), and relatively less in the greater than or equai to 65-year-old group than B pneumonia patients (p = 0.079). The proportion of comorbid condition to human influenza A pneumonia was 58%, lower than B pneumonia and H7N9 pneumonia patients (78% vs. 77.8%; p = 0.013). The proportion of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), lymphocytopenia, elevated lactate dehydrogenase to hospitalized human influenza A-related viral pneumonia patients was higher than B pneumonia patients (p < 0.05), but lower than H7N9 pneumonia patients (p < 0.05). In the multivariate analysis, pulmonary consolidation (odds ratio (OR): 13.67; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.54-121.12; p = 0.019) and positive bacterial culture (sputum) (OR: 7.71; 95% CI 2.48-24.03; p < 0.001) were independently associated with IMV, while shock (OR: 13.16; 95% CI 2.06-84.07; p = 0.006), white blood cell count > 10,000/mm.sup.3 (OR: 7.22; 95% CI 1.47-35.58; p = 0.015) and positive bacterial culture(blood or sputum) (OR: 6.27; 95% CI 1.36-28.85; p = 0.018) were independently associated with death in the three types hospitalized influenza-related viral pneumonia patients. Hospital influenza B-related viral pneumonia mainly affects the elderly and people with underlying diseases, while human influenza A pneumonia mainly affects the young adults; however, the mortality was similar. The hospitalized human influenza A-related viral pneumonia patients was severer than B pneumonia patients, but milder than H7N9 pneumonia patients. Pulmonary consolidation and positive bacterial culture (sputum) were independently associated with IMV, while shock, white blood cell count > 10,000/mm.sup.3, and positive bacterial culture (blood or sputum) were independently associated with death to three types hospitalized influenza-related viral pneumonia patients.
Fruits such as apples are a dietary source of polyphenols and have health benefits. We studied the benefits of apple polyphenols in reducing intestinal infections. We explored the potential roles of ...apple polyphenols in combating Clostridioides difficile-induced intestinal infections by modulating the intestinal microbiota and metabolism in our study. Mice fed with apple polyphenols exhibited higher survival rates and improved diarrhea symptoms in a C. difficile infection mouse model given once-daily apple polyphenol extract (200 or 400 mg/kg bw) or phosphate-buffered saline. Feeding polyphenols enhanced anti-inflammatory effects and colon barrier integrity. In addition, apple polyphenols mitigated intestinal microbiota disorders in C. difficile infection, modulating the intestinal microbiota and increasing the abundance of beneficial microbiota. Apple polyphenols also improved fecal metabolic alterations in C. difficile-infected mice and modulated the expression of pathways related to intestinal inflammation. Our results suggest that apple polyphenol extract is a potential prebiotic agent that affects the intestinal microbiota and metabolism, thereby positively influencing intestinal infections.
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